Cashew lovers may need to lend an ear to this one. Trader Joe's issued a food recall on Jan. 15 for its product called "Raw Cashew Pieces" due to possible salmonella risks.
The company was alerted by its supplier that one particular lot of products may be contaminated by the said bacteria.
The products affected are those that have labels that read "BEST BEFORE 07.17.2016TF4."
The cashew pieces were distributed in 31 states including Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and even U.S. capital Washington D.C.
The recall commenced as the American Heritage International Inc. announced following an FDA report that one lot of the cashew pieces was contaminated with salmonella. While the routine testing of the agency's contract laboratory revealed such, the agency did not find additional contamination findings in other lots.
Trader Joe's also conducted further testings on the affected lot and found no other contamination findings.
Although the positive salmonella result was noted in one lot only, Trader Joe's decided to recall all lots of the Raw Cashew Pieces out of abundance of caution. The products have been removed from store counters and sales have been cancelled while investigations are still ongoing.
So far, no illnesses have been reported related to the issue.
Trader Joe's instructed customers who have bought the product not to consume it as well as advised them to discard the product or return it to the store of purchase for a full refund.
"We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience," the news announcement read.
The food recall is not the first for Trader Joe's. In March 2015, the company also issued a food recall for its walnut products, also due to salmonella scare.
Salmonella is a bacterial organism that can infect healthy individuals and cause fever, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, which may sometimes be bloody.
Young children, older adults and those with weakened immune systems may experience more severe illnesses than others.
Salmonella may also develop into more serious conditions such as endocarditis, infected aneurysms and arthritis.
